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I would like to bring to your attention a new diagramming tool that we have developed as part of a research project funded by the UK EPSRC. The tool is called designVUE and it is a branch of the original VUE tool. It is an Open Source project based in the Design Engineering Group at Imperial College London. The tool can be downloaded at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/designengineering/tools/designvue

Features of designVUE that are of interest to the VUE community are:

1. IBIS NODES: We have added a special set of nodes for making decisions, mapping rationale, and solving problems. IBIS stands for Issue-Based Information Systems and designVUE provides functionality for four main types of IBIS node: Issue, Answer, Pro Argument, and Con Argument. In addition, IBIS nodes have a range of alternative statuses expressed through the colour and shape of icons, e.g. accepted, rejected, likely, unlikely, etc., so that maps can be continually updated with the status of thinking on a particular issue.
2. IBIS NODE LAYOUT: The text label of IBIS nodes is placed to the right of the icon for efficient space use and the default font size is larger for easier readability.
3. HYPERLINKING BETWEEN MAPS: Bi-directional hyperlinks between nodes in different maps (called wormholes) can be created to spread the rationale across different maps and move back and forth. The wormhole links are relative, so you can move a folder of hyperlinked maps with no fear of breaking the links.
4. RESOURCES PACKAGING: By default, maps are saved in package files so that resources are automatically embedded. Therefore maps can be easily shared by email and collaboratively edited by working on a shared folder over a network or through a web service like Dropbox.
5. FILE LOCKING: When you open a designVUE file, it is automatically locked to you until you close it. You can share a project folder with your team and have no fear of edit clashes.
6. INSTALLATION: The beta release of designVUE is distributed as a .jar. All you have to do is to copy it to your desired location. If necessary, it can be used with minimal setup directly on a portable drive where easing sharing or ICT restrictions make this advantageous (java must already be installed).
7. EXCLUSIVE designVUE FILE FORMAT: The default file format (the designVUE Package or .vdk) is exclusive to designVUE, so there is no risk of confusing them with your other VUE files (though you can open VUE files in designVUE as well).

As expert users of diagramming tools I believe that you may find it interesting. Any feedback you may have would be useful and very much
appreciated. You can ask questions on the designVUE forum below, or email us by selecting designVUE Feedback from designVUE'sHelp menu.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards

Helen Oliver

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/14/2013 18:24:12